One Shots
by Jason22274
Summary: A collection of short stories taking place in my AU. Most will take place before my current book. Those that don't will be marked with a spoiler warning at the top.
1. Evolution of a Heart

_(White Rose)_

"My little sister is finally getting married!" Yang cheered. "Two years of waiting for you two to get it on followed by thirteen months of nauseating romance and now we're here!"

"Uhg... You're more excited than I am."

Her sister's grin was infectious, and Ruby had to admit that in reality her own excitement was far beyond what Yang was demonstrating. It was just tempered by annoyance at her betrothed who had gotten very secretive. It wasn't that she was distant, which in itself was odd. Weiss was acting as if the world had become nothing but roses (no pun intended, really). She still was temperamental, but it was all good natured now, and obviously so. She had developed that mode when it was just the two of them, but now it was with anyone.

Ruby could attribute all of it to the wedding, and odds are she was right, but the quiet little discussions with Yang that suddenly stopped as soon as Ruby approached was getting outright annoying. "You two are planning something, and I know it's about the wedding," Ruby said with a glare.

If a halo could magically pop up over Yang's head it would have. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Her sister smiled. "Speaking of plans though, have you picked out your tux yet?"

In most ceremonies it was a given who wore what. With lesbians it was a bit more free form. Sometimes one wore the tux and the other the dress, sometimes both wore a dress. Heck, sometimes both wore tuxedos. It was just a matter of preference. After only a brief talk they had decided that ruby would wear the pants, so ta speak, and Weiss would take the dress. Now every time Ruby came back with what she thought was perfect either Yang or Weiss would find some little item that was off about it.

The day had to be perfect; Ruby knew that, but really? "It's being altered to fit. I picked the most expensive seamstresses in Vale, so it will be flawless so you two won't reject it yet again!"

"That's good. I would hate for it not to be done in time." This had been the biggest reason to shoo her off when the two conspirators wanted her away. Ruby was bound and determined to stop that in its tracks, but failing at every turn.

"Gah!" Ruby yelled in frustration.

* * *

Weiss looked over the paper in front of her, scratching out words, putting in new ones, and growing more frustrated by the second. This had to be perfect. She'd been working on it for two months now and yet it just didn't look right.

She knew Yang was approaching from behind by her low laugh. "Oh, she's getting so frustrated with us. If we keep her in the dark much longer she may kill us in our sleep. Considering where she sleeps I'd be careful if I were you."

"Hmmph. She wouldn't dare." Weiss cracked one of her rare but suddenly common smiles. "So, has it come in yet?"

Yang let out an answering smile, with interest. "Just in from Vacuo. I already have it set at the end of the aisle. She's going to flip."

"Good, now I just need to finish this."

Looking over her shoulder Yang read it to herself. "Looks done to me."

"Well it is done, obviously, but it needs improved on," Weiss said with some actual annoyance, all of it directed at the paper in front of her. "It just doesn't scan right."

A low chuckle escaped Yang's lips. "You're just nervous. Relax; it's going to be great."

"I'll be sure to tell you that when you decide on a guy," she bit.

This time the chuckle was much deeper. "Yeah, that's not going to happen."

"I don't know how you lead them around by the nose like that," the White Bride observed. "Sooner or later they're going to get sick of it."

Yang struck a pose. "With all of this?"

"Especially with all of that!" Weiss exclaimed.

With a shake of her head that clearly said 'if you only knew' Yang said "let me worry about it. You have enough on your plate."

Now that was too true. "I'm going to go see it. Keep Ruby occupied for a half hour or so."

"Yeah, that'll be easy."

* * *

Yang waited behind the doors that would bring her and Ruby out to the fabled aisle. Today was the day and everything had gone perfectly. By her calculations Ruby should be here any moment thinking that the ceremony would start in about fifteen minutes.

It wasn't. It was going to start the moment that Ruby showed up. It was an unconventional relationship, so this was going to be an unconventional wedding. There was already confusion among the guests watching Weiss, bedecked in her wedding dress, already waiting at the altar with her bride's maids waiting where the groomsmen would normally be. Yang was supposed to be among those brides' maids, as far as Ruby knew at least.

Ruby entered looking resplendent in her tuxedo, hair actually tamed for this day. Behind her came the groomsmen; Jaune, Ren, Sun, Neptune, Coco and Fox. "What's going on?" Ruby asked anxiously as she looked around wildly.

No answer was given as Yang stuck her head out and nodded once, then pulled back in. "Something special," she answered at last. Not that that helped any. It was her wedding day. By definition this day was special.

The orchestra started up at Yang's signal. It was not the wedding march which everyone except Yang, Weiss, and Ozpin had expected. Ruby's ears instantly perked up, recognizing the music. So did Jaune's, who had heard it the last time Weiss had sung publicly.

Then Weiss's voice rose, easily overpowering the melody.

"Mirror, tell me something,  
Tell me who's the loneliest of all?"

The guests were instantly uncomfortable, and Ruby's confused expression went up twenty degrees. This was not a song appropriate to a wedding.

The power of the orchestra increased, adding it's strength to Weiss's vocals, with the string section taking the spotlight. Anyone familiar with this song would know that the notes were the same, but the tempo was not. It was slow, gentle, much like the wedding march. No, it was more so, conveying the sadness the song represented.

"Mirror, tell me something,  
Tell me who's the loneliest of all?  
Fear of what's inside me,  
Tell me can a heart be turned to stone?"

At this point the pace would be fevered as the final verse was released. Instead it held even with the previous making the coming verse even more haunting than normal.

Mirror, mirror, what's behind you?  
Save me from the things I see!  
I can keep it from the world,  
Why won't you let me hide from me?"

Ruby was starting to get fidgety. Yang had mercy on her and allowed her to poke her head around the door. What she would see was Weiss, staring into an intricately designed silver mirror. Her face would be like ice; cold, distant, and devoid of hope. It was not the face of someone on the happiest day of her life. "What's going on?" Ruby asked again, now really worried.

Weiss hadn't sung publicly in seven years. The memory of the power of her voice was long since forgotten by most. Yang knew she sang to Ruby regularly, but even she hadn't heard her full range. Intimate settings didn't allow for what was coming as Weiss opened up a beautiful operatic run, its power echoing off the church's walls. After tonight's performance it would take another decade to have the memory fade. Her voice had been world class when untouched by her heart. Now it was unparalleled. The sound of her voice was filled with a sad melancholy, but by the time it ended it held a hint of hope, of joy.

"Let's go," Yang announced.

The groomsmen had lined up behind Ruby quietly so as not to alert her, then Yang looped Ruby's arm through hers and started them down the aisle as the last note of the run left Weiss's throat. The tempo had increased subtly, now matching the pace of the traditional music.

"Mirror, tell me something,  
Tell me who's the luckiest of all?  
Hope for what's inside me,  
Tell me can this stone begin to beat?"

Ruby was catching on quickly. Under her breath she whispered "so this is the secret?" Yang didn't change her expression at all, just basking in the joy of giving her own sister away in her father's stead.

Weiss had changed her position subtly, now with her back partially towards the aisle, but Yang could see her reflection in the mirror and her eyes were on only one person. Her cold expression had thawed and her happiness was showing through, just as it was showing in her voice.

"Mirror, mirror, what's behind me?  
Help me get the one I see!  
I have kept it from the world,  
Why did you let me hide from me?"

Another operatic overture, starting with the joy the last one had ended in, and building until Yang let go of Ruby and allowed her to take her spot beside Weiss. The music had gotten to her, so she would have been amazed if Ruby hadn't been put to tears. She wasn't let down. The speed of the final two verses reached its peak, and it brimmed with pure joy bordering on ecstasy.

"Mirror, tell me something,  
Tell me who's the happiest of all?  
Joy from what's inside me,  
Tell me can a heart be made to burn?"

Weiss turned slightly so she could look at Ruby directly for the first time.

"Mirror, mirror, who's beside me?  
Thank you for the one I see!  
I won't keep it from the world,  
My heart is now forever free!

Mirror, mirror, tell me something,  
Who's the most loved of all?"

A slight pause, then the last line, sang directly to Ruby with all the strength of her heart and with all the gentleness of a dove.

"I'm the most loved of all."

The last line held in the air, so sweet and soft. The look in Ruby's eyes was all the proof that Yang needed that the effort to keep this secret from her had been worth it.

The guests were in hushed awe, as was the wedding party itself. They had all known there was a plan; none had heard what Weiss was preparing beyond their part in it.

Presiding over the ceremony it was upon Ozpin to break the silence. "That was very beautiful Weiss, if unorthodox. I do not believe there will be any who will doubt the strength of your vows. Ruby, do you have anything to add?"

Yang knew she had prepared vows of her own. She had worked on them for hours, practiced them in front of a mirror to get them just right so Weiss knew how deep her love went. All that Ruby said though was "I will never let you fall," trying to wipe away the tears that was smearing her makeup.

Ozpin smiled, and finished the ceremony without dramatics. There was nothing that could top what had already been seen and heard. "Weiss, do you take Ruby to love and to hold, in sickness and health, in times of battle and of peace, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

He turned his attention to Ruby. "And do you Ruby take Weiss to love and to hold, in sickness and health, in times of battle and of peace, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I- I do," she swore, her cries of joy causing her voice to break.

Rings were not traditionally done by Huntsmen and Huntresses. They were too easily broken or lost when in the field. Instead their vows were symbolized by a bracelet chosen by the couple. Both had chosen one that was a simple unadorned white gold, hinged and latched so they would always stay in place without hindering movement. These bracelets were still called rings, and had much the same look if a tad larger.

"Weiss place the ring upon Ruby's wrist and repeat after me," Ozpin intoned. "With this ring I thee wed."

There was no doubt in Weiss's eyes, and though she was obviously emotional her voice was steady. "With this ring I thee wed."

"Ruby place the ring upon Weiss's wrist and repeat after me," the headmaster continued. "With this ring I thee wed."

Ruby wasn't nearly as composed. She fumbled with the bracelet several times, her emotions overwhelming her. Finally though it was in place and latched. "With this ring I thee wed," she vowed, unable to stop the tears from growing.

"I now pronounce you Ruby and Weiss Rose." The Headmaster looked at Ruby. "You may kiss your bride."

The cheering deafened any other words that might have been said, but no words were needed. Not with that kiss.

* * *

 _Author's notes:_

 _Lyrics, uninterrupted by the storyline:_

 _Mirror, tell me something,_  
 _Tell me who's the loneliest of all?_

 _Mirror, tell me something,_  
 _Tell me who's the loneliest of all?_  
 _Fear of what's inside me,_  
 _Tell me can a heart be turned to stone?_

 _Mirror, mirror, what's behind you?_  
 _Save me from the things I see!_  
 _I can keep it from the world,_  
 _Why won't you let me hide from me?_

 _Mirror, tell me something,_  
 _Tell me who's the luckiest of all?_  
 _Hope for what's inside me,_  
 _Tell me can this stone begin to beat?_

 _Mirror, mirror, who's behind me?_  
 _Help me get the thing I see!_  
 _I have kept it from the world,_  
 _Why did you let me hide from me?_

 _Mirror, tell me something,_  
 _Tell me who's the happiest of all?_  
 _Joy from what's inside me,_  
 _Tell me can my heart be made to burn?_

 _Mirror, mirror, who's beside me?_  
 _Thank you for the one I see!_  
 _I won't keep it from the world,_  
 _My heart is now forever free!_

 _Mirror, mirror, tell me something,_  
 _Who's the most loved of all?_

 _I'm the most loved of all._


	2. The Bond

_Author's Note: for my AU the conversation with Jaune and Ruby in "Welcome to Beacon" went slightly different where Ruby did not learn that Jaune hadn't made his weapon. (Or anyone else who would learn in the future) Frankly that conversation ruins how I'm having Huntresses/Huntsmen use their weapons in my AU, as will become obvious as you read this story._

* * *

 **The Bond** **  
** _(Jaune, Second year: First semester)_

Jaune moved with a new confidence, yet hesitant. It had been six months since he'd started training, truly training, in how to fight and use his aura. His fighting skills had improved greatly, yet his aura control was still barely above a beginner's. No sign of his semblance had shown any hint of appearing despite Pyrrha still insisting that it would come to him 'any day now.' He did believe Pyrrha when she insisted he had a very strong Aura, stronger than most. But what was the use when he couldn't control it without outside help?

He was still nowhere near a fighter that anyone else was in JNPR or RWBY. In fact he didn't think he was a better fighter than anyone in his year, but at least he wasn't an embarrassment. The only thing that set him apart was his leadership, particularly tactics. He was Professor Helm's star student and had gotten the respect that came with it from most of the school. As Helm put it, "You don't need to be a great fighter to be a great leader."

Now it was time for another lesson in Aura control from Pyrrha after a good workout. According to her the physical and the spiritual had a connection and doing one would strengthen the other which is why she did both on the same night rather than spacing them out.

Sitting Indian style he closed his eyes and felt the familiar touch and tingle of Pyrrha touching his forehead and heart, and chanting the now familiar words. He felt his aura and though he couldn't explain how he could "see" it, and hers. He had found it a bit freaky at first, but now it was just normal as he felt his aura 'unlock.'

"Let's try something different today Jaune," his lover told him. "Reach out to Crocea Mors with your Aura. I have yet to see you use it to your full potential."

Jaune did exactly that, though not really sure what to expect. This kind of 'reaching' had become easier for him, when assisted by Pyrrha, but normally it was to make it protect him from an impact or heal a wound. Touching something else that was inanimate was new.

When he touched it he felt a familiarity to it which brought him back to his childhood. He couldn't help but smile as he remembered sitting in the den of his family's estate listening to his grandfather talk about the great war. He felt warmed by the memory.

"I don't understand," Pyrrha said absentmindedly. "It's like you didn't even make Crocea Mors."

Jaune was a bit surprised, not understanding the connection. "I didn't, why?"

The silence got awkward and after a minute Jaune opened his eyes to see what had happened. Pyrrha was just looking at him blankly. "Pyrrha?"

"You didn't make it?" she asked, her voice just as blank as her face.

What was he missing? "Yeah, I got it from my grandfather after he passed."

The blank look never left her face. If Jaune could wrap his mind around the concept he'd think she was in shock. After a moment she started to look at him again. "I knew you were not properly trained when you came to Beacon, but I did not realized you had not learned about how our Weapons worked. I assumed that your lack of training is the reason your weapon was so simple in design." She looked at Jaune realizing that last could be considered an insult. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean it that way."

Jaune was too distracted by the thought that there was more to their weapons than killing grimm to notice the possibility of an insult, not that he would have taken it as one. "What else is there to our weapons? Mine seems to work just fine when I fight."

"Our weapons are more than just that. Here, look at my aura and how it interacts with Miló and Akoúo̱." Jaune closed his eyes and watched finding there was an aura to both weapons, but he'd seen the same to his own weapon. What he hadn't noticed was that they were the same red color as Pyrrha's, and if he concentrated hard enough they pulsed at the same time like a heartbeat. If he looked closer still he could see small tendrils that connected all three. "Now watch what happens when I use one." Pyrrha stayed sitting, but reached back and pulled Miló, transforming it into a rifle and firing it up into the air. In all his time at Beacon he'd never watched any of the students or teachers use their weapons while looking at their aura. If he had he'd have known the difference between what they did and what he did instantly. It would have been impossible not to as Pyrrha's Aura and Miló's doubled in intensity and those small tendrils became thick and obvious to even a cursory look.

"Wow." There was no comparison to what she did and what he did. His aura never connected with his sword or shield, nor did they match colors. He tried several more times to join with it, and never was close.

"I'm sorry Jaune," she said with obvious regret. "I should have asked sooner. I have been wasting your time until now."

"So I need to make my own weapon?" He asked, catching on quicker than he would have a year ago. "I always thought you learned that so you could repair them."

"That is part of it," Pyrrha agreed, "but a very small part."

This was a reminder that for all his attempts to catch up with his classmates there were still large holes in his schooling. "So how do I learn to make a weapon? They don't have classes for it at Beacon because I should have learned before being accepted here."

"I know the perfect person."

* * *

If eyes could glow, Ruby's did. "You need to make a weapon?" she asked excitedly.

Jaune knew Ruby well enough to know what she was like with weapons. Anyone who saw her for more than thirty seconds when any kind of weapon was nearby would know it. "Uh, yeah. Nothing too complicated though, okay?"

"Of course not. Why would you say that?" She was trying to act indignant and confused. Acting was not her strong point.

Jaune's eyes were automatically drawn to Crescent Rose. "Um..."

"Okay, I may have gone overboard on her," she said quickly, "but you can't argue with the results, now can you?" Ruby reasoned.

Jaune wanted to say that his self esteem was just fine, and it was definitely better than it had been. It wasn't good enough though. "Yeah, but this is my first weapon, I don't want to mess it up."

"Crescent Rose was my first too," Ruby said reassuringly. "It's not that hard."

Jaune's mind tried to comprehend how many moving parts were on Ruby's beloved weapon, and completely failed. "That's your first? How... I mean the engineering... and the parts..," his mind boggled.

"Oh, don't get me wrong it took a good two months of planning," she said rubbing Crescent rose lovingly, "but it's worth it. It's like a first love, you'll never forget it."

"How do you know? You haven't had a first love yet." Surely she was exaggerating at least a little. Then he remembered seeing how connected Pyrrha's aura had been to her weapons. Maybe not.

"Well, yeah, but that's what I keep getting told," Ruby said, this time with a true indignant tone. "If my first love is anything like Crescent Rose I... I don't know what I'd do."

"So, my weapon?" Jaune prompted.

"Well, let's start with the basic ideas. You're already trained in sword and shield, so let's keep that." Jaune nodded, happy that she was showing some restraint. "But it needs a gun. Any modern weapon needs to have close and long range possibilities." Restraint was starting to look a bit thin, but she did have a point. "And you have both a sword and shield. I bet we could make them combine into even cooler weapons." Restraint was starting to look like a memory. "Oh, and we could add Dust rounds to the gun. Use actual crystals as opposed to the powder form Weiss's sword uses. Bet that'll add some punch." Yeah, a very distant memory. "I think I could get both the sword and shield to have guns for the ultimate one-two. The shield is big enough; I could even try for a rail gun, though that would mean steel shells since Dust crystals aren't magnetic. Or maybe I could have the rounds Dust tipped?" Restraint? What's that again? "Oh, I know..."

Yeah, time to get her back on track and away from a weapon that was likely going to turn into a paladin mech if he let her. "Uh, Ruby?"

"Yes?"

She was adorable though, and Jaune smiled at her excitement. "Simple, remember?"

"That is simple," she said reasonably.

Cute and no sense of proportions. "No, that is the exact opposite of simple."

Ruby cracked a manic smile. "Oh, you wanna bet? I can show you complicated if you want."

"I'd rather you didn't," Jaune said, knowing full well she wasn't joking.

"Okay, well the first step is the planning," Ruby said, switching gears to look at the total process, not just the end result. "We want something durable. Strong without being brittle. A bit of flexibility. It needs to be thin, and able to be properly laced with Dust so it can fold in on itself."

And again Jaune was left confused. "Uh, fold in on itself?"

"What, did you think a weapon like Ember Celica or Coco's massive Gatling gun really folded that small without help?"

Um, yeah. "I didn't really think about it, to be honest."

Ruby sighed dramatically. "I'm going to have to go to basics with you, aren't I?"

"That would be a safe bet, yes," he confirmed.

"Alright. Some metals take to dust better than others. Magnesium takes dust pretty good and iron takes it the worse. Generally speaking the more dense the metal is the less it will hold. With me so far?"

"Uh... Dense metal bad, light metal good," he simplified.

"No because too light and it won't hold up to anything," she corrected as if he was a slow student, which he was. "Can you picture your sword made out of pure aluminum?"

"So we go with metals that are somewhere in-between?" Jaune said, incorrectly thinking he knew where she was going.

"Sometimes. We can also go with an alloy, but I went with a third option." She pulled out her collapsed scythe. "You can't really see it around the paint, but here," and she transformed the scythe into its weaponized form. "Look at the blades."

Jaune did, and saw subtle gradients in the metal. It was actually quite pretty. "It's called pattern welding," Ruby advised. "It's not really an alloy so much as multiple metals forge welded into a single piece. It gains the benefits of all of the metals and is stronger than they would be if actually melted together as an alloy. It's like a laminated piece of wood. It also means the lighter metals will hold the dust better than the alloy would have while the sturdier metals will still give its full strength."

"My dad has blades like this," Jaune noted, "but the patterns are a lot more visible."

Ruby nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, they can be made to be brighter with the proper treatments. For non-dust uses it's mainly for looks now days. In ancient days before we could forge metals hot enough to separate impurities and make pure metals, which is where the process originated."

This was really starting to look more complicated than he thought it would be, and it had looked complicated to start with. "So, do I have to do this forging, or can I have someone else make the parts and just put it together?"

Ruby smiled at him. Now that they were away from the design and gotten to what he needed to know the smile had lost a tad of the manic quality. Only a tad though. "That depends on how strong of a bond you want with your weapon. I forged my own, so did Yang. That's why we can more or less transform our weapons with a thought. I'd recommend it."

"This is going to take a long time, isn't it?" Jaune asked with resignation.

"Oh, making it won't take that long," She reassured him, followed by a dose of reality. "Learning how to make it will. I'll do the design for you," she said with a returning gleam in her eye that made Jaune nervous. "To save you time, of course."

Yup, that was believable. "Riiiiiiiight." Ruby's smile wasn't subtle. "I'm going to have a rocket launcher popping out somewhere if I let you do that, aren't I?"

"I promise," She said as if negotiating a land deal. "I'll keep it to a single gun no more powerful than Crescent Rose."

He was going to limit her more than that. "In her rifle form. No high impact sniper rifles that will fling me all over the place."

"Aaah... That's no fun," she pouted.

He wasn't done yet. "And I get final say on it. This is going to be my weapon. I'll need to be able to use it, not you."

"I'm going to make sure you love it," again she let loose that smile. "Trust me."

He didn't, quite, groan.

* * *

Yang and Pyrrha did the actual training on how to do the forging. For multiple reasons, most of them obvious, Beacon had its own forge. When asked why Jaune needed help they gave the story that his training hadn't included it and his last weapon had been put together with pre-ordered parts. That reason was usually frowned at, but accepted. Pyrrha had trouble with the deception, but since it was mostly true she went with it.

Meanwhile Ruby was in her element. She hadn't designed a weapon in years. Not seriously at least. She had a few sketches here and there of course. She decided early that his sword had to have the least amount of changes from what he was used to so only gave it two forms; gun and sword with very few moving parts and minimal use of dust for the transformation. That allowed for the blade to be made with almost none of the lighter medals that wouldn't hold an edge well. The barrel was going to be an aluminum alloy though which was the best there is for dust use, allowing it to nearly disappears when in its sword form. It's what Coco's Gatling gun used for its barrels in fact for the same reason.

For a moment Ruby was lost, her imagination working through the process of taking Coco's handbag apart so she could find its inner workings and how it accomplished such an amazing transformation. The things she could learn!

The final look of the sword would be nearly identical except for a hand guard and trigger which would actually improve his grip and make thrusts second nature. To transform into a gun the sword's blade would split down the middle and open by sliding along the cross guard, remaining parallel to each other, and revealing the shortened rifle barrel in-between. The hilt would bend to a forty five degree angle to make firing it an easy action. This simple of a transformation would make changing between the two forms take less than a second allowing for some truly frightening combinations. Ruby was a bit impressed with herself on its design.

And Jaune said she couldn't keep it simple.

She still wanted to make it into a rail gun. With the blade in that position it would be easy, but Jaune used his stupid Veto rights.

For his shield she had other, slightly more complex, plans. Magnesium had a great ability to flex under impact and was light enough to have a heavy amount of dust, so it was going to be highly featured allowing for more options on how it could fold and a mundane ability to spread the impact throughout the shield preventing dents, mostly. Like the original it would transform between a heater shield and a scabbard, but she was going to add in a few more forms as well.

First was a forearm shield. It was simple, really. Have the shield open half way and fit on the arm ninety degrees from normal with the point towards his hand. As it opened it would round inwards slightly including the point to give a decent level of protection. It would be good for when he was moving quickly, and give a resting spot for his gun when he needed to fire it with more precision since the positions of the blades would prevent him from holding the barrel with his hand.

It would maintain the scabbard in that form so he would have a place to hold his sword if he needed to. Ruby couldn't really think of a time when that would happen, but it was best to be prepared right? Because of the shortening of the shield when in that form the end of the blade would stick out slightly. She could change that, but Jaune had been very specific; it was to be as simple as she could make it.

Yup, that's her story and she's sticking to it.

That's why she set it up so the blade could be pulled in from the top hiding the hilt and extending the blade farther out the bottom turning it into an armored forearm sword that just happened to maintain its ability to change into a gun.

See, simple.

That was as far as Jaune let her go with it. She had plans of adding aluminum to the hilt so it could turn into a spear like Pyrrha's. Ruby had thought he would like that one! And then that would allow for a truly awesome extended punch action when it was set as an armored forearm blade. Something about "no training with that kind of weapon," he'd said. As if he didn't have a perfectly good teacher for that.

She had to work on him for a few days just to get the armored forearm shield. She had so many other ideas but if even the spear was out, what was the point? She sketched out the other ideas anyways. She showed how the sword could change into a staff with a single edged blade on each side. No dice. She had tried to change his mind about the rail gun, which he had flatly refused, so obviously the Dust crystal rounds were out.

Sooooo many ideas. Eventually Yang proclaimed him competent enough to start on his weapon, and at that point arguments were useless. The creation process had started and the planning was over.

* * *

Ruby had been right. The actual forging of the blade didn't take nearly as long as learning how to do it. The only thing he hadn't expected was Pyrrha once again opening up his aura and having him concentrate on his aura as he forged the weapon's individual parts. He thought it would be hard, but in less than a minute he could feel the metal react to his aura, and soon it was drawing his aura into itself without him trying.

It tired him out faster, but he was fascinated. After the first piece was completed he didn't need Pyrrha's help to add his Aura to the process. It came as second nature.

Multiple techniques were needed to make the weapons, and it took over a week to get them all to work together. Each day he was more aware of his aura. On the last day he started putting the parts together under Ruby's direction, and he couldn't believe how emotional of an experience it was. When they were done, he was all smiles as he looked over at his team who had watched with anticipation, and at Ruby who looked like a proud parent.

"What's its name?" Pyrrha asked as the last part was put in place.

Jaune looked at her and smiled. Filo," he said as he indicated his sword, "and Timo," he finished indicating his shield.

"Want to practice with them?" she asked. At that moment Pyrrha, Filo, and Timo were all that existed and he wanted nothing more than to feel the freedom he sensed in his weapons.

"More than anything," he said, feeling whole when he hadn't known before there was a piece missing.

* * *

 _Author's Note: The names were a bit harder than I expected. They needed meaning, but I didn't want the meaning to be obvious. A special thanks to_ _KCNederland for pointing out mistakes with my original names for jaune's weapons._

 _What I came up with is filotimo (aka philotimo) which loosely translates to "for the love of honor." in Greek. It's much deeper than that though._

 _I would love a picture of them. I have a rough approximation on my DA page (Username: Jason22274), but it's all copy-paste clipart style stuff. Nothing impressive.  
_

 _On the subject of forges and blacksmithing, I know I'm likely off on several points. I'm going to have a friend who is a blacksmith look at this story and see what he thinks. Just roll with it for now. The main points on how dust work with metal is correct (at least in my AU)_


	3. First Bloom

_Author's Note: This is simply chapters 1,3, and 4 of "Senior Year" pulled together for a single (mostly) standalone White Rose short story._

* * *

 **Alone**

Weiss looked at her sleeve, wet and covered in makeup, and whispered to herself "why am I crying?" Curled up on her bed, the lights out, she hoped she was being quiet enough not to wake the rest of the team. It wasn't that she didn't want them to wake up. It was because if they woke up, they'd see her in this state and her pride refused to show that. She was a Schnee...

No, she wasn't. Not anymore. The words rang in her ears, though they had been said hours ago. "You are no longer my daughter." She'd lost everything with those words: no longer an heiress, no longer rich, no longer able to uphold the good Schnee name. That last had been the problem. She wanted that name to mean something good. She wanted to prove to the world that not all of her family cared more about money than ethics.

Her last meeting with her family she had argued the point with her father... her ex-father. It had gotten heated, especially when Blake was brought up. He could insult her, but an insult to her teammates was more than she could take. She didn't even remember doing it, but she remembered the sound. The silence that followed it as a shocked look crossed his face and a hand went to his reddening cheek. Then he said those words, and Weiss didn't care, not at that point. She was too angry. She left without a second thought and went back to her only real home; Beacon academy and her teammates.

It didn't hit her till now what it all meant. Her father may have questionable ethics, but he never went back on anything he said. His twisted sense of honor wouldn't allow it. It wasn't the loss of all her physical goods that hurt right now; it was the reality that she was, once again, alone.

She looked across the dorm room in the moonlit darkness and saw Blake and Yang on their respective bunk-bed, and heard the loud snore of Ruby above her. No, not alone. Not yet anyways.

This hadn't been her first fight with her father, though it certainly was the last. She'd grown up in that environment. She was "the heiress to the Schnee empire" in the public eye, but it was her sister who got her father's attention. When the time came, Weiss fully believed that Winter would become the head of SDC. Her father had been very clear on that point.

A new rush of tears fell, remembering the isolation. She didn't like it, but she started patterning herself after Winter. If that was what he wanted, that was what he'd get. She would do almost anything to get her father's love. She was only six at the time. It was only natural.

The only thing that he had shown any approval of was her singing. She could sing like an angel. He'd have entire auditoriums set up for her performances. She didn't know it was a cover for him to meet with the less savory of his business partners at the time. All she knew was it was the perfect metaphor for her life. She stood alone. Thousands of people watched her, but never got close. Listened to her music, fawned on her beauty and skill, but didn't really care about her.

There was only one thing that had given Weiss any confidence at all. She was a Schnee. By definition she was better than everyone else; everyone who wasn't a Schnee. This was reinforced by all the people who wanted to curry any kind of favor with her, and how her father looked down on them. Even if she wasn't good enough for her own family, she was still worlds above most.

A particularly long and loud snore came from above her. She punched the bottom of the top bunk to get Ruby to stop, more out of anger for her own situation than to stop the snoring. But a shake of the bed indicated Ruby had rolled, and the snoring had at last stopped.

When she realized she would never get her father's love was when everything snapped into perfect clarity. She was alone, and would always be alone. Rather than allowing it to hurt her, to allow people to care only for her money and status and for her father not to care at all she kept her distance and made sure no one would come near her. The more they tried, the more she knew they didn't care about anything but what it meant to them to be seen with her. It made her skin crawl, and it made her angry. An arrogant air seemed to turn people away the fastest. After time had passed she even began to believe the facade.

And then she met Ruby, in the worse way possible. Talk about bad impressions! Despite herself a small chuckle escaped her at the memory. Ruby was a force unto herself, even if Weiss hadn't realized it at the time. After all, she couldn't see beyond her own self importance. She was a Schnee, and for the first time she was the only one. She was the most worthy one there.

Weiss was fairly certain Ruby hadn't realized what kind of force of nature she was either. With her came the rest of the team. Trust was the big thing. It was something completely alien to her, but fighting side by side trust was inevitable. Friendship followed. True friendship, which she'd never had before. She'd become happy without really knowing when.

Her friends had given her the strength to be honest with her father, rather than trying to be his scratched porcelain doll. She told him how disgusted she was with what he was doing to the Schnee name, and their family's company. How did she think that was going to work out? And she called Ruby a dolt!

A small piece of her childhood self must still have been inside her hoping her father would love her.

The muffled crying continued until sleep finally claimed her. The dreams that came after were closer to nightmares.

* * *

The morning was bright, Ruby was animated, and Blake and Yang were both still in their bunks. One was reading and the other sleeping. Everything was normal. Three more days on the mid-semester break, and Ruby was being quiet (by her standards), but Weiss knew from experience she had all three days planned out to make the best of them for herself and her team. It was adorable in its own way. Not that Weiss would ever admit it to anyone.

Normal. It all felt wrong to Weiss. She knew it shouldn't. They didn't know what had happened to her, so they were going to just do as they always have. She wasn't going to disillusion them. Weiss couldn't bear to see the pity in their eyes. She may not be a Schnee anymore, but she still had her pride.

"Come on Yang, everyone else is up. Stop being such a sleepy head."

"Dolt. You know that if there are no classes she won't rise before ten for anything short of pulling one of her hairs out." The words left her mouth out of reflex, so ingrained was this routine.

"I wouldn't recommend doing that again," Blake responded in her near monotone voice. It was what passed for sarcasm with her. "I don't want to have to repair our furniture again."

The irrepressible Ruby wasn't thwarted. "It wasn't that bad."

"She punched a hole through my bed!" Blake responded.

That sheepish look crossed her face, her two pointer fingers tapping together. "It wasn't that big of a hole."

"I was in it at the time, and the mattress' stuffing made me look like a chicken."

Weiss began to tune it all out. Everything was normal, except for her.

"Weiss! Weiiiiss!"

"Huh?" Startled back to reality she looked around and realized Yang was awake. Obviously a lot of time had passed.

"You drifted off somewhere in la-la land," Ruby said. "Are you okay?"

"Of course I'm fine! What kind of dumb question is that?" Ah yes, haughty arrogant princess. That was familiar. It was safe.

All three of her friends took a step back, a bit of shock on their faces. That bitterness wasn't like Weiss, not for two years now. The sarcasm was, of course, but not the icy intent. She knew what was crossing their minds, of course. Even if it had been years the echoes from that past were unmistakable.

Damage control time. After a deep breath, "I'm sorry. Just didn't sleep well." Another half truth, but at least it wasn't an outright lie. She waved her hand dismissively, as if it wasn't really anything of consequence. "So what did I miss?"

That was the wrong thing to ask. Ruby launched herself into an exciting day that she had planned. She spoke so fast that after a minute Weiss raised her hands up as if to defend herself. "Okay, okay, I get it. Really, you shouldn't use your semblance to talk so fast."

"I didn't." A thoughtful look crossed her face.

"Oh no, I forbid it!"

That brought on a defeated pose, her head and arms hanging down dejectedly. Three, nearly four, years after meeting her and she still had that innocent charm. Weiss didn't think it would ever leave her. It was as part of her as the red cape she wears to this day.

"Oh, alright, but I'm not going to pay attention to it, just to be clear," Weiss said testily. And that was all it took. Everything was right in Ruby's world.

Blake had her own say on the matter "I really don't think her semblance can work like that."

Yang was trying hard not to laugh at all of this, and failing miserably. "She's certainly going to try."

Weiss tried to smile, but it was forced. If anyone had been paying attention to her they would have known. _I can be normal still. This will all pass,_ she lied to herself, _and we'll all be laughing about it later._

* * *

Why Ruby went to Nora for advice even Ruby couldn't explain in words. Nora wasn't exactly a subtle or tactful person. While Ruby was tactless herself out of a social awkwardness that was with her to this day, Nora's lack of tack came from a level of enthusiasm that made her speak before she fully processed her thoughts. Yet here she was asking Nora advice while the others were off in the library studying, or more likely getting beat by Juane at 'Remnant: The Game' again.

"So you're saying you're worried because Weiss is being cold, grouchy, and snipish lately?" Nora asked with a 'and this is new to you how?' smile on her face. "She's been like that for a month, at least."

"It sounds silly when you say it, but yeah; more so than normal." She shook her head slightly. There was more to it than just that, but she wasn't sure Nora would believe her. Weiss seemed off in another way. If she didn't know better Ruby would say she had no confidence.

"Yesterday she picked a fight with Blake about white fang, calling them degenerates from the day they were formed, not just the final years. Blake walked away from it rather than actually hitting Weiss, but I think it was a near thing. I know Weiss doesn't feel that way. Not anymore. So why?"

"So she's going after her own team now? That is bad. I really did hope it was just my team." Nora leaned back, fully relaxed and unnaturally docile for her. Ruby had timed this conversation perfectly. She valued Nora's input, but she didn't want to get sidetracked as Nora was want to do normally. "Ya think maybe something ha- ha-" Nora let out a big yawn. "happened between her and her folks?" Okay, maybe Nora was a bit too relaxed. "After all, this seemed to start after she got back from her visit with them."

Ruby was a bit surprised. 'folks' meant she didn't know. Did Weiss only tell her? "Her mom died when she was young, so really it's just her dad and her sister, but maybe." Ruby had caught the slight change in Weiss too, but hadn't been sure. She was happy to get a confirmation. "I'm not sure what that could be. She loves them of course, but certainly doesn't like them. She's grouchy every time she gets back. What more could they do to her?" A small idea came to her at those words, but she wasn't sure. She filed it away for future analysis. It would explain a few things she'd seen in her friend lately.

"I could rough her up and force it out of her!" It was classic Nora, in her bloodthirsty yet oddly cheerful and cute voice. A bit of her normal self was starting to show through. Ruby couldn't help but laugh. Then again Ruby laughed at everything, even Weiss's jokes.

And that was when the door opened. Ruby reflexively grabbed at the blanket. Nora just leaned a bit further back and folded her arms to purposely accentuate her breasts and smiled. Weiss's eyes were shocked for one second, if that. Then they became hard, unforgiving, and focused completely on Ruby. It scared her. Those were the eyes she saw the day they first met. Ruby wasn't sure why Weiss was so angry, or why she felt so guilty. She and Nora had been quiet about their affair, but it wasn't like this kind of thing was unheard of.

Without a word Weiss turned around and left, closing the door behind her.

"Well that was something," Nora replied sarcastically.

Ruby was near tears, and again she wasn't sure why. "I need to be alone Nora."

A confused look crossed Nora's face, and then a big smile replaced it. "Well if that's what you want then I'll let you have your time, but I'm just across the hall if you need anything. I think I'll just go talk to Ren. I'm sure he's lonely without me, probably just reading. You know how he is." Ruby watched Nora get dressed and listened to her talk now that the afterglow fog was starting to clear and appreciated her beauty. Nora was a great friend and beautiful, but that was all there was to it for her. Well that and Ruby needing help to understand her own sexuality.

Nora was the only open lesbian Ruby knew well enough to even ask. And well, this happened. Nora didn't really care who knew what was going on. She was just as open about her sexual orientation as she was about every other aspect of her life. More or less it was in your face because there was no such thing as a filter between her brain and her lips. It was Ruby that was hiding it. She was embarrassed, confused, and more than a bit guilty.

"Ruby," Nora said as she opened the door, her voice unusually soft. "I know this is for fun and a bit of experimentation, but it's been good hasn't it?"

"Of course!" She faked. It had been fun, and she did learn a lot about sex and herself. But that wasn't what Nora meant about "good" and she knew it.

* * *

 _Got to find her, got to find her, got to find her,_ Ruby chanted inside her head, while verbally she said "Weiss, where are you. Please, I want to talk to you."

Ruby ran into a wall as she made one turn in the dorm hallways. Well actually it was Yang, but it might as well have been. "Hello sis!" Yang said cheerfully as she reached down to give her sister a hand up. "What's this about Weiss?"

Thinking quickly Ruby grabbed Yang's wrist and pulled. "Not here," she said, pulling her back to their dorm room as fast as she could, which given her semblance was quite fast. A couple of seconds later (she was slowed down by Yang's weight) they were there.

Unphased Yang asked "Well?"

"Well you know how I haven't really dated, even though there have been plenty of cute boys who've been interested and I was always kinda uninterested. And they were cute; did I mention they were cute? I mean I'm quite popular, though I didn't want to be popular just a normal girl, remember, normal girl with normal knees? So really it was only natural that boys would keep hitting on me and..."

"You're gay, you've been sleeping with Nora, I know," Yang interrupted. "Can we move on to Weiss?" Caught off guard, Ruby just stopped and looked blankly at her sister. "You've been sleeping with _Nora_. How long did you think she could keep her mouth shut? Ren knew the night you approached her, and we all knew by the time you two really, you know, did it."

That slowed Ruby down, with a humorous and extremely shocked look on her face; for a couple of seconds anyways. "But what about Weiss? I mean she didn't seem to know when she opened the door, and I mean really surprised, and she gave me that angry look. Remember her angry look, when we first met? No, of course you don't cause you ran off with your friends, but it was really scary and..."

"Wait wait wait, Weiss caught you two?" Ruby was fully aware that Yang was using simple questions thrown in to slow her thinking down. Her sister was well accustomed to her going off the handle when she was nervous, upset, or extremely excited, and was good at steering the conversation. The small, non-jabbering, portion of her brain was thankful for it right this moment. She needed help, and she needed to get moving.

Still, her voice was on autopilot. "Yeah, and Nora didn't even try to hide that she was naked, but I completely covered myself, and so you'd think she'd look at Nora first, but she was looking at me with those angry eyes, and you'd think I would be scared, but really I was just feeling guilty..."

"Slow down, what did Weiss do after the angry look?"

"She left, which is why I was out there calling her name, and then I ran into you and... Oh, you know the rest. Can I go find Weiss now?" A short sentence. Well shorter. She was starting to come back down. Good.

"Yes, I'll stay here in case she comes back and I'll call you if she does. You might want to stop calling her name though. If she's trying to hide from you warning her you're coming probably isn't going to work so well."

Getting all of that off her chest, Ruby was visibly calming down. She reached out and gave Yang a hug. "Thank you; you're the best sister ever!" And then she was off in a shower of rose petals.

* * *

Watching Ruby leave, Yang couldn't decide if she was upset or happy. Why did Nora get involved with Ruby? It had been clear years ago that Ruby and Weiss were going to end up together to everyone except the expected couple, so why sabotage it? When asked she'd simply shrug and say she was just speeding things along. Yang had nearly gone to blows over it, but she managed to hold her temper in check. Any kind of fight could bring what everyone knew was happening between Ruby and Weiss's out in the open. As shy as Ruby could be she would likely go into her shell, and Weiss was just pig headed enough to push away out of her odd sense of pride.

Of course, both outcomes were only theories, but there were at least five more that spelled them knowing causing more harm than good. Why risk it? They would end up together over time just from their own mutual attraction. It was best if they figure it out naturally than unwanted matchmakers pushing them.

This development though was possibly the perfect storm to bring them together, or tear them apart. Either way she felt sorry for both of them. Weiss must be crushed thinking the one she loved had no chance of returning her feelings, and Yang knew Ruby well enough to know where her guilt was from. She felt like she somehow cheated on Weiss, though it was only on a subconscious level right now.

Then again Weiss had changed lately, setting everyone on edge with her frosty behavior. Yang didn't really believe it but the thought was still naggingly there. What if Weiss was returning to her old self because soon their time at Beacon would be over? If that was the case she could force it all to end before it truly began.

But Yang was happy. Her sister was a force of nature. It will end in their favor. She was certain of that. She stopped to think what day it was on her mental calendar, and smiled _And I'm going to win the pool._

* * *

Weiss felt a pain unlike anything she knew; one more powerful than her father disowning her. How close was she with the members of JNPR? They'd fled at the first chance. She knew Blake would desert her. In her team she was the one Weiss expected it to happen with first and she'd been proven right. Yang wouldn't leave her so much as simply disappear on some adventure on the other side of Remnant after graduation. But Ruby, she was the one person she'd hoped would stay.

She never suspected, or expected, Nora of all people to get in the way. _In the way of what?_ an unwanted voice asked.

She had to hide. She didn't want to have Ruby catch up with her, or any of them to see her like this. Hiding in an academy wasn't an easy task. The good spots had already been found. She needed someplace gross, smelly, and cramped. Places where the other students wouldn't want to hide for their horizontal gymnastics. A broom closest was the solution. The chemical smell of cleaners hit her in the face as she opened the door. Well, at least if she was caught she could blame the chemicals for her tears.

She sat, smudging her white skirt on the grimy floor. Weiss couldn't define what was running around in her head as thoughts. More like instinctive yearnings and fears chasing each other's tails. Hugging herself tightly, she let them have their way for now. A few minutes later she heard Ruby pass by, quietly calling Weiss's name. It went unanswered.

Dolt. She'll probably spend the rest of the day looking for her, missing dinner if necessary. She wouldn't stop until morning. Weiss knew what would happen when Ruby did find her. She could picture it in her head perfectly. It twisted her guts, feeling the knife that would so gently be pushed into her heart. Ruby would say anything to make Weiss understand it wasn't about her; that she and Nora had just found something. Something she couldn't get from Weiss.

Fine! If she couldn't get it from Weiss, then at least she was getting it somewhere. _I'll get her to understand one way or another that I don't need her, and she can go back to what makes her happy without guilt. I'll force her to if needed!_ The thoughts continued in that cycle and the anger in them built up each rotation. By the time she was ready to face the world she wasn't in the mood for any diplomacy.

She went directly to her dorm room, half expecting to find Ruby waiting for her. She was half right, finding a half sister instead. Yang looked like hell, but Weiss knew she hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours. "Where have you been?" Yang started, a bit of heat and a lot of worry in her voice. "You got Ruby worried sick."

"Ruby should mind her own business," Weiss retorted with a bit of the superior 'I'm better than all of you' tone she used to ooze thrown in. A tone she didn't have any right to anymore, but was good armor to wear in any situation.

"She cares about you," the heat was definitely rising in Yang's voice. Good, no point in waiting till graduation for her desertion.

"No, she doesn't. She may act the cute adorable feather-head, but she's in it all for herself. She made us all into the perfect team so she could look good in front of Headmaster Ozpin, and it worked. She'll get her pick of jobs as long as she can hold us together till the end of semester." Weiss couldn't believe the words left her mouth, and she certainly didn't believe a single one of them. That wasn't the point though. She got a reaction.

Yang was a woman of extremes with few grey areas. Normally cheerful, she had only a couple of buttons to push. Attacking her sister, that was a big button. She was playing with fire; time to stoke the flames. "You're just too thick to notice because she's your sister. I bet she laughs every time she thinks about it."

That did it. Yang's eyes going red was the only warning, but it was all Weiss needed. She cleanly bent backwards avoiding the fist that would have connected otherwise, and continued the motion into a perfect back flip. The punch was no joke. If it had connected it would have probably knocked Weiss out, Aura or no Aura. It was fortunate that Yang's eyes were such an obvious tell.

"Hmmph!" was all Weiss said in reply to the attack, with a roll of the head and eyes. Then with a superior sniff she turned and left.

A muffled "Weiss..." was heard behind her through the door, but Yang didn't chase after her. As quickly as Yang's temper had flared, Weiss knew it had cooled just as fast. It didn't matter. Her only regret, or the only one she was allowing herself to acknowledge, was that she didn't get to change out of her grimy skirt first.

* * *

Ruby's scroll rang, and seeing Yang's face on the ID she paused her headlong run to answer it; hoping that Weiss had shown up at their room. "I messed up," Yang said before Ruby had a chance to say anything. "She bated me, and I bit."

No need to ask who 'she' was. "What did she get you to do?" Ruby had only one guess off the top of her head, and she was afraid the answer was going to prove her right.

"I took a swing at her, and I wasn't holding back." Ruby stopped breathing, her fears confirmed. Yang continued, oblivious of Ruby's reaction. "She knew it was coming of course, and she ducked it." Breathing started back up again. "Then she got all superior like she has been lately and left. I called you as soon as I calmed down. It couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes. What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." The voice was steady and determined, like she got when in a battle. It was going to be a fight, but one of emotion and words and Ruby had no intention of losing. She felt the importance of this moment on her shoulders; as if it would dictate the direction of her entire life. She couldn't lose!

She knew Yang would recognize that tone, and she hoped it would reassure her sister. Ruby wasn't sure if Yang realized how much she had helped her. She had gotten so upset that she hadn't really thinking. Before Yang's intervention she'd been reacting and going into her nervous circular chatting patterns. If Yang hadn't come along and calmed her she'd still be in that state and completely helpless against the challenge before her.

Hanging up the scroll she charged towards the dorms. She was on the other side of the grounds, and the longer she took the further away Weiss would be from them. She couldn't let loose with the full power of her semblance, the vacuum of her passing would cause too much damage, but she pushed just below that level.

Her semblance had limits; the biggest was she had to travel in nearly a straight line. The faster she went the more momentum she gained, and her power didn't negate that momentum. It also had one advantage: her endurance was superhuman even when she wasn't using it.

Her need to slow down for turns caused her to take a bit longer than she wanted, but when she did get there her breathing was perfectly calm. She got there in time to see Weiss go around the corner of the dorms towards the gardens. Quietly Ruby followed not wanting to spook her friend.

* * *

Weiss wasn't sure where she was going. She didn't really have a place to go: no home, no friends, no nothing. She had herself to blame, and deep down she knew it. She found herself outside, in the garden next to the dorms. It was a beautiful spot with the smell of flowers everywhere. It didn't fit with Weiss's mood at all.

"There you are!" The voice behind her was unexpected, mainly because Weiss assumed Ruby would still be calling her name, not giving her a chance to prepare herself. Unguarded, Ruby got a split second to see the hurt behind the facade. She hadn't needed to see it though. She knew. Weiss could be a real pain, but she wasn't purposely hurtful normally.

"What do you want?" Weiss snapped, while in her head _Go away, please, just leave me alone._ Of course that wasn't what happened.

"I want to know what's wrong! This isn't like you, not anymore!" The desperate look in Ruby's eyes could not be faked, so Weiss ignored it instead.

"Nothing's wrong, you dunce, so why don't you go where you're wanted." Anger rose in her fueled by her own self-doubt, and by a sense of jealousy she knew she had no right to. It was coloring a voice with what had been intended to be bitterly cold ice with a forge-like heat. She turned her back towards Ruby, trying to show just how little she cared, and doing the exact opposite.

Weiss froze when the arms circled her, holding her from behind. Ruby rested her chin on Weiss's shoulder. "Please, stop pushing us away," she whispered in her ear. "We know something's wrong, and we are here to help."

"Just what a good team leader should say, now isn't it? Well stop. Its last semester and we'll all go our own way after. You don't need to pretend anymore to care about the 'ice queen,' and I don't need to worry about my promise to be the best teammate ever." Those words had hurt more than any she had said in her life. She could physically feel her heart squeeze at her chest. It was hard to breath, but she had to endure. Better to cut it off now than later. The longer the farce went on, the more painful it would be when it ended.

"Nope. I don't believe you. And you don't believe your own words. I can feel it, right here." The emotional pain grew worse when she felt Ruby's hand over her own heart. She felt her knees start to collapse under her, but Ruby's arms tightened and held her upright. "I will never let you fall Weiss. Never, you hear me?"

"Why? Why do you care? I'm not worth it..." A vision of Nora and Ruby together crossed in her mind. "Besides, you have others to hold close. You don't need me. Everyone loves you."

"And I care for everyone, and that includes you."

Weiss couldn't stand it anymore. She wanted to lean into the embrace so much. Instead she shrugged out of it and turned back around to face her before Ruby could hold her again. "You insufferable little brat!" she lashed out, determined to get Ruby to leave. "How much clearer can I be? I don't want you. You're holding me down, and frankly you're suffocating me. You're better off without me, and I'm going to be just fine without you. Now go."

"Nope."

"What do you mean nope?" Weiss asked incredulously.

"Nope. I'm not leaving you behind, and I won't let you leave me behind. Tell me already, what happened? It was your father, wasn't it?"

Weiss did collapse this time, but Ruby was there halfway through the fall, catching her. "I told you already, I'll never let you fall." How could she know? She wasn't that bright, frankly.

"How..?"

"Oh come on Weiss, I'm not the naive girl you met. I do notice things, like my best friend becoming bitchy right after coming back from your last visit."

And she thought she had hid it so well. Who's the dolt? Then she noticed the two missing words that should have been in that last sentence. Not 'one of my best friends,' but 'my best friend.' She couldn't stop it from happening. She leaned in, and began making the front of Ruby's shirt wet with her own tears. It wasn't all she had ever wanted to hear, but it was closer than she deserved.

"I'm not a Schnee anymore. You don't need to treat me like some kind of princess, because I'm not. I'm not anything." She felt naked with that admission with her defenses down and ready for a strike she hoped wasn't coming, but couldn't rule out.

"So he finally disowned you?" Weiss nodded her head into Ruby's shoulder. "Good. He wasn't good for you anyways. Who cares if you aren't a Schnee anymore? You are still part of the best team Beacon has seen in a generation, and you're going to be one of the most sought after Huntresses in Vale. You know how that happened? It wasn't because of a name. It was because of you. You are a good person, a good friend, and one of the smartest most capable people I know."

"You and your speeches." Damn if it didn't feel good hearing that. She meant something. She wasn't certain she really believed it, but that Ruby did meant more than all the worldly goods she no longer had.

"You make it easy." Were those tears dripping on her? Weiss looked up, and indeed Ruby was crying. It didn't look natural. Ruby always looked on the bright side, was eternally cheerful even in the heat of battle. So why?

Ruby looked down and saw the questioning look on Weiss's face. "Do you think you're the only person whose felt abandoned? My mom died when I was a baby. Dad fell apart after that. I was alone, but I had Yang. Without her I would have been completely lost. I can only guess at how you feel. You have no one left in your family who cares about you, and you never really had any friends until Beacon." The tears were coming down harder now. Weiss reached up and brushed a few off Ruby's face.

Weiss had already known most of that, but it never really registered how much that must have hurt Ruby. It was easy to forget because of how naturally cheerful she was. It struck Weiss just how well Ruby understood. Without conscious thought Weiss reached around, pulling Ruby in closer. "Stop the speeches already, Dolt."

* * *

When Weiss settled in the gardens, Ruby moved in. In the conversation that followed she let her desperation show and pleaded. Ruby kept her temper down, ignoring every verbal attack. Instead she concentrated only on helping her friend and getting to the truth. Ruby marveled that her nearly nonexistent temper was flaring at all, but it was from the little slights that Weiss was making towards herself. Ones she was possibly not even aware she was making.

It actually went easier than Ruby had expected. When the truth was revealed she'd never seen Weiss so vulnerable. She just held her as Weiss cried, yearning to do more. Weiss had lost nearly everything, and her fear to lose what she had left had led her to make it the truth. What would Weiss call it? A forced prophecy? No that wasn't it. People can be so stupid, especially the smart ones.

"I will never let you fall," she whispered encouragingly, sitting down on the grass with Weiss's head in her lap, "and I will never leave you." She repeated these words which Ruby now knew were what Weiss needed more than anything else on Remnant. It lasted hours, and during that time Ruby wondered at her own words. "I will never leave you." It was the truth, but it was deeper. It wasn't for Weiss that she wouldn't leave. It was for herself. After their time at Beacon, and their time in team RWBY, Weiss had become an integral part of her life. She didn't just want to stay in her life; she never wanted to leave Weiss's side.

It was a revelation. Thanks to Nora she knew what she was, and she had more or less grown comfortable with it. She could think in terms of relationships with other women without wanting to shy away from her own desires. _Am I in love with Weiss?_ she asked herself. The speeding up of her heart said yes. _What are the odds of Weiss feeling the same? Approaching another woman and asking her out hadn't been in Nora's teachings. I'm not sure how to find out._ She felt her thoughts trying to go into a circular tail spin, and resolutely pulled out. _Don't worry about it right now,_ she told herself. _It's not the time. She needs a shoulder more than she needs a lover, so that's what she'll get._

By the time Weiss looked up the sun had gone down. "Dolt. We're going to get sick if you let us stay here all night." Ruby smiled down, glad to see some of her Weiss showing through again.

"I'm not tying you down," Ruby replied.

"No, you're holding me down. Besides, as leader isn't it your job to make sure your team takes care of themselves? I mean really, you're just failing at your duties." The tone was sarcastic, but it wasn't biting anymore. Maybe a bit forced, Ruby could tell the pain was still there and would be for a long time. This was a good step though.

"Well then, I'm ordering you to get back to our room."

"Don't get power mad," but she got up, gently pulling out of Ruby's arms. Part of her wanted to grab at Weiss and pull her back in, but that time was past. It was going to be a cold night and she really didn't want to get sick, but she couldn't stop herself from hovering protectively over her friend when they headed back to their room. She hoped it felt comforting to Weiss, not creepy.

Entering their room, Weiss visibly shrank into herself as she saw Blake and Yang waiting for them. Their gazes weren't exactly hostile. They were wary, as if they weren't sure if they should be preparing for another fight or not.

The distance between Weiss and Ruby, already closer than it should be, suddenly shrank to nothing as Ruby moved in to hold Weiss. A part of her red cape slid over Weiss's shoulders like a dove's wing. She led Weiss's passive body to her bottom bunk and sat her down, a sudden protectiveness she wasn't familiar with enveloping her.

Yang had already relaxed, seeing the difference in both of her friend and her sister. Blake was a bit less trusting of the situation, but her guard was definitely starting to lower. "It's okay guys," Ruby started, her voice a bit more chipper than she felt.

Weiss held up a hand to indicate Ruby should stop, though she didn't leave Ruby's arms. Yang obviously noticed this too. Her eyes stared at the embrace, and then she smiled victoriously. Knowing that every one of her close friends knew her inclinations it was easy to guess what was going through her sister's head, and she was right. "This is my responsibility Ruby. I need to make amends for my transgressions."

"Trans-what?" Ruby asked confusedly.

"What I've done wrong, Dolt. Do I need to buy you a dictionary?" Again her Weiss showed through, though the pain was obvious as well. Was it wrong that every time she heard 'Dolt' her heart heard "My Love?" Was it wrong that she kept thinking of Weiss as her Weiss?

Blake finished dropping her guard at those words; looking expectant and hopeful that her friend was back. "I've been horrible to both of you," Weiss said softly, each word seeming to pain her. "I'm sorry. You both deserve explanations why."

Blake spoke up. "It's unnecessary. When you found out about my involvement with the White Fang, you told me the whys didn't matter. Well, this is the same thing as far as I'm concerned. I can't speak for Yang, but for me I don't need to know more." Yang was nodding her head in agreement.

A wan smile crossed Weiss's already strained expression, making her look even more like she was seconds from crying. "Thank you. I need to tell you though, for me. Give me that." Blake and Yang both nodded with understanding and found spots to sit. Blake took her bunk, while Yang took one of the chairs and straddled it backwards. When they were ready, Weiss began telling her story. At one point Yang got up and hugged Weiss, forcing Ruby to move out of the way for the duration. She possessively returned to her spot as soon as it was over.

When Weiss finished, visibly tired from the admissions and her insecurities, her teammates gathered up on her bunk for a group hug. "I probably will be all over Remnant after graduation," Yang said truthfully, speaking to Weiss's fears, "but Vale is my home. I'll always return here and when I do you'll find me at your door."

Blake followed suit. "Why would I leave? I know where your fears originate from, but they're dead wrong. I never forget who my friends are, and you're one of my best, even when you're being a brat."

Ruby didn't say anything. Their words had already been exchanged back in the garden, but Ruby played them again in her head, feeling warmed by her promise.

Blake was the first to break off the hug. "We have classes in the morning. We should get some sleep." She fixed her gaze on Weiss, "And I really do need my friend's help, and she gets angry when I don't ask for it. Perhaps we can talk about it after classes?"

Weiss smiled and nodded. Ruby couldn't pick out all the reasons for the smile, but the biggest piece was Blake not only forgiving her but truly accepting her.

Yang was next, though she didn't have anything more to add. She was all smiles though. It helped dispel the remaining tension in the room.

Blake and Yang went directly to bed while Weiss and Ruby changed silently into their pajamas, Weiss making a sour face at the grass stains and grime on her skirt. When Weiss crawled into her bottom bunk, Ruby started to follow her. She stopped half on, half off, fear running down her spine. The action had seemed so natural to her, like she'd always done it. She started to back out, fearing she had crossed a line. A line she very much wanted to cross, but what would Weiss think?

Before her weight had even started to shift into reverse Weiss said "Where do you think you're going?"

"Um, well this isn't my bed. I'm not even sure why I started to get in. I guess I'm too tired, you know?" She grabbed the back of her head and laughed nervously.

"Did that sound like a complaint? You didn't feel me pulling out of your arms all night, did you?"

Ruby was getting more and more confused by the second as she tried to tell if what she heard was real or just what she wanted to hear. "Well, you felt like you needed the comfort is all."

"Of course I did, dolt. I'm a mess. Get in here and finish what you started."

Still unsure of herself, she did what she was told and came in behind Weiss. Laying behind her friend her arms came around and held her close. In the lightest of whispers Ruby heard "thank you."

Across the room in the other bed, she could hear much more clearly; "'Comforting,'" followed by Yang's chuckle "I win," and Blake's low, pained, groan.

* * *

Weiss opened her eyes. They hurt and felt swollen and red. They probably were. Memories of yesterday came to her slowly, and she mentally shied away from them. She remembered talking to Yang and Blake about being disowned. What had possessed her? Then she felt her mattress shift under her. Someone else was in her bed? The last memory fell into place. It wasn't a what that had possessed her, it was a who. How did she get people to open up? What Ruby said should be laughable, but yet it worked. She seemed to know exactly what to say and when to say it to get Weiss to open up. It unnerved her.

Moving as slowly as she could she tried to look behind her and see how her friend was laying. If she was lucky perhaps she could get out of bed without waking Ruby and pretend last night hadn't happened. She really didn't think the latter was going to happen, but at least the first?

As her head made it half way around, and her eyes covered the remaining distance, her hopes were instantly dashed. Ruby had her head propped up on one arm looking down and smiling like an idiot. Weiss turned back to her original position with a groan. _This isn't happening._ she moaned to herself. _I'm still dreaming, or is it a nightmare when you're getting everything you want only to lose it when you truly wake up?_

Fingers touched her back, and she stiffened. They felt hesitant, nervous. "Weiss?" That wasn't the smiling voice that matched the face she had just seen. "I'm sorry... I- I'll go."

"NO!" Was that her voice? It was! _I did ask her to hold me all night. It would be rude to kick her out of bed now,_ she reasoned. More calmly, "no, you're okay."

The wind was knocked out of her as Ruby quickly moved in and grabbed Weiss, hugging her closely. "I'm glad cause I was afraid you'd wake up angry with me for taking advantage of you, or perhaps just regretting letting me hold you, and I really liked holding you..." The Ruby express derailed before it really got going, as if the steam had just left her engines. Weiss could sense the nervousness radiating off her.

Being honest with anyone, even your friends, was nearly impossible when you were lying to yourself. Self delusion was something Weiss excelled at. She let those denials go though, for the moment at least. "I liked it too. Don't let go."

"I will never let you go." It was spoken with that same sincerity as last night in the garden. Suppressed feelings rose up at Weiss. Ones she hadn't even admitted to herself existed.

Reaching slowly up, she put her hand over Ruby's, and squeezed. "Dork."

"Your dork, if you'll have me." That was very forward for the socially awkward Ruby. It was also very smoothly said. She detected another woman's help, and she had a suspicion of whom. She'd seen all the proof of it she needed yesterday. Jealousy sprang up, and she clutched Ruby's hand possessively. She was so close to having it all, and Ruby seemed so ready. She couldn't risk losing it.

In a motion that felt practiced, though really it was just luck it went right, she pulled ruby's hand bringing her arm over her, pulling Ruby's body. At the same time Weiss rolled in the opposite direction so she ended up on her back. The end result was Weiss on her back with Ruby on top looking into each other's eyes. "My dork, hmmm?" A smile curled the right corner of her lip. _If this is a dream, I don't want to ever wake up._ Weiss realized. "Mine," she whispered.

Then suddenly the feelings of wonder left, and her head turned away as a tear traced its way down the scar over her left eye. "I don't deserve you." She was nothing now. Ruby deserved more.

"Nope."

"Why me?" She knew Ruby's answer; she just couldn't get herself to believe it.

She wasn't proven wrong. "Cause you're special."

"No, I'm not. You're the special one." In any other context those words could have sounded romantic. In this one it was heartbreaking to everyone who could hear the once proud woman be reduced to depressed self-doubt.

"Would you two shut up and kiss each other already?" Yang growled good naturedly. Both girls jumped and froze; surprised that Yang was awake this early. A second later their accusing gaze shifted to the other bunk-bed. "What? Did you think I was going to miss out on you two finally getting together? I know this will be the most important morning in my little sister's life, so don't fuck it up Weiss." There was a slight edge of sisterly protection in her voice that Weiss couldn't miss. 'Break her heart, and I'll break you' it promised.

Blake shifted slightly, and blinked. "I thought you were going to wake me Yang."

"I couldn't without alerting them, but you haven't missed much. Just them admitting their feelings by denying those feelings exist and making it all way too complicated."

"You- you- You planned this!" Ruby accused. A second later Ruby flew across the room and the two sisters started brawling as they often did, Yang laughing the entire time.

Blake looked over at Weiss. "You know we couldn't have planned this," she said, answering Ruby's accusation. It was a shame Ruby was too distracted to hear it. "Feelings are feelings. No one has the power to plan them, the heart just knows." A rare bright smile crossed Blake's face. The romantic in her somber friend was showing through. "It was fun watching you two circle around each other, I have to admit, but we deliberately stayed out of it. What happened yesterday, and is happening this morning, is your doing; yours and Ruby's."

Over the sounds of their fighting Ruby yelled "you made a bet with the others on when we were going to start dating didn't you Yang?" Ruby actually was mad Weiss realized. Weiss remembered the last words spoken before they all fell asleep. 'I win.' Yeah, there was a bet somewhere in there. "Don't deny it! You only make that face when you're fighting or when you just won money!"

"When you slept with each other, actually, and I think last night counts," Yang laughed.

Ruby was deadly with a scythe, but she was nearly worthless hand to hand by Huntress standards. Yang on the other hand was the best brawler in the school. She was in no danger of getting hurt, but Ruby was certainly making an obvious attempt at it now. "My Dolt, get over here already," Weiss called, hoping adding the 'my' would distract her enough to stop fighting.

And it did. With the attention span of a cocker spaniel Ruby jumped off Yang's bed and directly into Weiss's arms, barely touching the ground. "You mean it?"

"I'm not sure it'll work, but I want to try," Weiss said honestly, though her doubts were clear. Her confidence was still crushed. Her biggest fear wasn't that Ruby would leave her because of a loss of her name and worldly possessions. She was afraid she'd push Ruby away, as she'd been trying to do for the last month.

Ruby kissed her with an emphatic exuberance eclipsing the most excited Weiss had ever seen her girlfriend. The word caught her by surprise. It really was happening. She was dating Ruby. She was pretty sure she heard Yang laughing and she wanted to be upset about it but she couldn't. Ruby was too distracting at the moment to concentrate on anything else.

The kiss had to end though. She had one concern that wasn't tangled into her own splintered ego. It took Weiss physically grabbing the hair on the back of Ruby's head and pulling to get her to stop. "What about Nora?"

"She's a friend; we had sex, that's it." Ruby was struggling to get back to making out with Weiss with single minded determination. Weiss was guessing her short and direct answer was simply to speed up that process. She looked at the only help available, her eyes pleading, but both patently ignored her as they got dressed and left. It was as if it was a lazy Saturday morning to them.

Yang even started whistling a happy tune. "I'll let Professor Peach know you two aren't feeling well," she smiled back at them with a wink.

After they left, Ruby stopped holding back, which almost frightened Weiss even more. _She's got a higher gear? I'm doomed!_ She wasn't a virgin by any stretch. Her and Neptune had quite the love affair back in the day, and there had been others after. She'd thought she was ready for anything. She was wrong. In her night time fantasies she'd assumed that she would have to be the aggressive one if her and Ruby ever got together because Ruby was too innocent.

Ruby was _not_ innocent as she showed the same aggression that was her hallmark when fighting Grimm. It only took Ruby minutes to reduce Weiss to the point where thoughts of her own worth couldn't enter her head. The only thing that existed was Ruby and it was useless to fight it. _I need to remember to thank Nora,_ was the last coherent thought to enter her head for several hours.

* * *

Internally Ruby was overjoyed. She'd just spent the night with Weiss. _Her_ Weiss. Externally she was busy trying to beat the tar out of Yang. Damn matchmaker! Who cared if that was exactly what she'd wanted? And then making a bet about it? Oh, she was so dead!

Damned if Yang didn't make it even more frustrating by laughing and easily avoiding every punch, headlock, and armbar. She was frustrated enough that she was tempted to cross the unspoken rule about Yang's hair when from the other side of the room she heard "My Dolt, get over here already."

Yang who? Ruby was suddenly being held by Weiss, having flung herself from one side of the room to the other. "You mean it?"

Looking into Weiss's eyes, she could see the self doubt, and the fear. It was enough to cut through every other emotion, good or bad, to focus completely on the one before her. "I'm not sure it'll work, but I want to try," Weiss said.

That depression just wouldn't do! She dove in for their first kiss as girlfriends, trying to drive the very breath out of Weiss to have it replaced with the love Ruby couldn't express enough of. Well, maybe not love she had to admit, but damn if this emotion didn't fill her to overflowing with joy! She had never been shy about showing her emotions, and she'd never been known to be subtle, and right now she wanted to be sure Weiss had no doubts.

Her exuberance was leaving her a bit breathless, which was a new sensation for the usually tireless speedster. Yang nearly ruined it with her laughter. Ruby filed it away for another reason to beat up her sister later. She'd have to resort to dirty tricks, but one way or another her sister was going to pay.

Ruby's body reacted in a familiar way as Weiss pulled her hair, though her mind knew Weiss had to have other intentions with two people watching. Well, lust was to be expected, wasn't it? "What about Nora?" Weiss asked, which confirmed her suspicion.

Annoyed by the distraction Ruby said shortly "She's a friend; we had sex, that's it," and then did everything she could to start making out again. She wasn't fully aware of what the other two were doing, except that they were still there. Yang started to whistle which was a bit annoying as it only reinforced that she had to restrain herself. Her sister redeemed herself though by explaining "I'll let Professor Peach know you two aren't feeling well." That was followed immediately by the opening and closing of their door.

Alone at last Ruby was ready to fully claim Weiss as her girlfriend in the most carnal way possible. She was over eager, and she knew it. "Do you mean it? Am I really yours Weiss?" she asked. She knew she was, but she wanted to hear it again, and again... and probably a few hundred more times after that. At least for today. They could start the count all over again tomorrow. How long had she wanted this? Longer than she could admit even to herself. It took a lot of long talks with Nora to understand that just because Yang was randy as a rabbit with the guys and they were sisters didn't equate to her being oriented the same way.

Weiss didn't disappoint. "Yes, You're mine, and I'm yours." The depression was still evident, but a sigh of contentment was also heard leaving her love's lips. It was a good start.

 _Why did it take so long to admit my feelings?_ was Ruby's last chaste thought for several hours.

* * *

Several hours and a long hot shower later, Ruby watched Weiss getting dressed. The dazed look on Weiss's face was a point of pride to Ruby. _Maybe I should have taken it a bit easier on her,_ she thought with a lop-sided grin. _I just couldn't help myself though, once I got started. I feel bad for doing it, but how often have I pretended to myself that Nora had been her? Too many to count._

As if someone else was moving her body Weiss found her garments and put them on, one at a time. That stopped when she got to her coat, her eyes focused on its back. She gently moved her fingers over the snow flake that was her family's emblem. It was perhaps the most well known one on all of Remnant because it was also used for her father's company. Ruby knew she literally had no right to wear it any longer, well beyond the emotional reasons.

Every huntsman and huntress had an emblem. If they were part of a line of huntsmen, like Ruby herself, then often they took their parent's for their own. Ruby wore her mother's, Yang their father's. Those who didn't made one. Weiss was unusual because she didn't have any direct family to use, but she had a family business's insignia to fall back on instead. It had been her need to give a good public face to SDC that she'd used that insignia.

Legally her father could sue her for using it once the paperwork went through and she wasn't his daughter on paper as well as well as word. She would need to come up with an alternative. It was the final tie to cut in a life she had never enjoyed, yet had been all she'd ever known.

Ruby walked up to her and kneeled so she could look up at Weiss, a hand stilling the one Weiss had over her jacket. "I'll miss it too," she whispered tenderly.

Bitterly Weiss threw the jacket into a corner. "Stop it or you're going to get me to start crying again. I've had quite enough of that," there was anger, but it wasn't directed at Weiss, and it wasn't at her. Both were improvements. "Let's go. We've already missed one class. I don't want my grades to suffer because of this."

They left, Weiss's jacket forgotten in the corner. Ruby decided she was going to replace it, and do it soon. Weiss's shoulders were enjoyable to see, but she just didn't look right. Walking down the halls Ruby had trouble deciding if the looks they were getting were more related to that lack, or the fact they were walking hand in hand.

Ruby had been shy about people knowing her and Nora were anything more than just friends. With Weiss she was proud, and she wanted to make it clear to everyone Weiss was _hers_. They'd missed their first class, and had made it to their second class with seconds to spare. It wasn't until the two hour break between their second and third class that the rest of their team, and team NJPR, descended on them. They all seemed to sense that Weiss wasn't ready for the ribbing and left her alone, but Ruby was fair game. Nora and Yang led the charge with Jaune coming in right behind. The fact Nora was joining, and nearly leading, the fray eased Ruby's one fear that she might have hurt her friend. When Nora asked if Ruby had put her 'training' to good use Ruby blushed, and everyone else laughed.

Everyone except Weiss and Blake. They'd gone off to a corner and started talking, sometimes very animatedly. It was animated with excitement though, not anger. Ruby would have loved to know what it was about, but let them have their space. It was just good to see Weiss seem to be happy.

On the way to their last class for the day Weiss came up to Ruby and whispered "me and Blake are going into town this weekend. She's going to let me give her a makeover." Ruby nearly tripped over absolutely nothing. "It isn't that what she wears doesn't look good. It's alright for some people, but she needs to look more professional if she wants to move up."

Ruby tried to make sense of this, but couldn't. Why would Blake need to look professional? Most Huntresses wore street gear designed for ease of motion; some wore armor; a few even high fashion; but no one dressed professionally. Why would they? Ruby shunted her thoughts away, and asked something else entirely. "What about me? Should I get a makeover too?"

Weiss took a seat in the lecture hall, and Ruby sat next to her. "No, I couldn't picture you any other way than you are right now." Ruby knew for sure now that her fashion forward girlfriend was biased, but that fact only made her feel even better. "However you can come along, if you want."

The last was meant to sound like it wasn't any big deal one way or another, but it failed miserably. Ruby was eager to go to town anyways. She had a gift to get.

Weiss was showing more life, but Ruby was positively buzzing during class. She couldn't pay any attention. Her mind was working on exactly what she wanted to have made; making small changes here and there in the design. She hoped Weiss would like it. She'd have to find the basic item and have it altered to make it match her mental image. The hardest part would be getting away from Weiss long enough to get it made.

A jab in the ribs from Weiss brought her out of her daydream, her eyes showing disapproval. "Pay attention, this is important," she said in hushed tones. Ruby couldn't help smiling at it, but she got her thinking cap on and listened to the droning of their teacher.

That night Ruby crawled into bed with Weiss without hesitation. Was it only yesterday that Ruby was preparing for a battle with Weiss that would determine the destiny of RWBY? It felt like years already. _We need to get a bigger bed though. A twin mattress is a bit of a tight fit._ Not that Ruby minded. It gave a good excuse to cuddle closely.

* * *

Two days later, Sunday, Weiss was in the eighth store they'd visited so far. She was searching through the racks for the perfect shirt for Blake to go with the rest of the suit. Blake was a woman transformed, yet it fit well with her personality.

Ruby had disappeared hours earlier, called off by Yang, again. Yesterday she'd been gone for three hours, and Weiss wasn't entirely sure why Yang had needed her. Weiss was annoyed, not wanting to be separated. She was feeling better today, but Ruby had become a bit of an emotional security blanket. She was itchy that the depression would come back without her.

Never hearing Ruby approach, she was shocked to feel something settle over her shoulders. It was heavier than her coat had been, particularly on the left shoulder. Looking it over, she realized it was a cloak, white on the exterior, and red on the interior. The flow was perfect. It was not as long as Ruby's, and much more formal feeling. It none the less instantly reminded her of the red cloak her lover wore. Looking at her left shoulder she noticed the weight was a spaulder painted red with black along the outer edge of each plate; Ruby's colors.

Before turning around she reached up and buckled the straps that secured the shoulder in place as her hands shook with emotion. When she was done she turned around to face Ruby, unsurprised at the expectant expression. It was filled with equal parts hope and fear. It turned instantly to joy seeing Weiss's expression. _I think of her as a security blanket, and what does she do? Gifts me with a real one. She's a dolt, and at times a complete nit-wit, but she's my dolt and someone I will never regret having in my life._

She saw Ruby getting ready to launch into a confusing monologue about why she decided to get it, and to make sure Weiss was okay with her gift. She cut it off by kissing her and putting all of her emotions into it. "It's perfect," she told Ruby.

Things would never return to normal as she had once known it. They transformed to a totally new definition of normal on that day; a better normal. It was a memory she cherished all the way through the dark days that were to come.


	4. The QEST

**The QEST**

"I should be coming with you." Taiyang grumbled, clearly unhappy. He had to give one more shot at making Summer see reason.

She was stubborn though, and this was just a repeat of arguments past. "No, you need to watch Ruby and Yang."

Tai knew that Summer loved her children. Because of that he knew his next statement was worthless. "There's this thing called baby sitters."

The answer was immediate. "And if neither of us comes back?" That was the problem. The information they had was sketchy at best, and it led to one of the most concentrated areas of grimm on record.

Searching for another argument and failing, Tai gave one last plea. "At least bring Qrow."

"I am." Summer broke into a smile. "He'd kick my ass if I didn't."

At least she wouldn't be alone then. "I love you, don't be stupid out there," Tai said walking the two steps that separated them.

"I love you too," accepting the hug, and a kiss that held both love and sadness. She had already said her goodbyes to Ruby and Yang. All that they knew was Summer was going out on another mission. That wasn't unusual, and mom always came back.

This time it was different though. "I'll bring Ehlen back to us."

* * *

"Tai should be coming with us," Qrow grumbled, clearly unhappy. Not that Summer was listening to a conversation that could have come directly out of her husband's mouth. Instead she was busy checking gear, looking over maps, and anything else she could do to avoid the argument. Brothers, even if they were in-laws, were good to have watching your back.

They were also a giant pain in the ass!

"We were all a team. The team looks out for their mates, and one is down _all_ of the team should bring her back." Qrow crossed his arms, leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. Sighing, Summer was glad he had finally talked himself out. It allowed her to think without distraction. Both her husband and Qrow were right, as much as she hated to admit it. QEST should be doing this as one.

She was right as well. Her children had to come first. If this all went wrong they would at least have a father to raise them, and their very existence would be enough to keep him together and to heal. Not that she planned on dying, but it was the risk.

The family was broken. She tried so hard to keep Tai together, but she was falling apart inside too. Ehlen had been his wife, but she had been as close as sisters to the point of referring to each other as such. Their bond was as strong as it was with Taiyang. A bond started by that love to their husband.

She was risking splintering her family farther, but her heart couldn't take the pain that refused to go away. If Ehlen had died this would be different. There could be closure. They didn't know anything. All she knew was it had been for a mission from the governing council itself. Her sister always took missions seriously, so she didn't tell anyone, not even Tai, any of the details. When she didn't return the council had done the same. Their own searches had proven just as fruitless.

Eventually the healing did begin, even without that closure. When Summer became pregnant with Ruby they had even gone so far as to marry legally as well as emotionally. Their lives were never going to heal, but they would improve. It would become good. She was looking forward to raising their children. Yang may not be hers by blood, but the two mothers had always raised her as one, and she had always considered her her own because of that. Ruby was going to be a blessing she would never take for granted.

Then the wedding presents were gone through after the ceremony, and all the scars were instantly ripped open again. In an unmarked box was Ehlen's wedding bracelet. It was shining as if it had been polished only hours ago, the engraved words on the inside perfectly intact. In the middle of the box was a note. "She lives."

It could have been a cruel joke. They didn't know of any enemies, but it was possible. They couldn't risk it though. If she was alive they had to find her. Summer and Taiyang had been searching for any piece of information on her since. They got pieces but nothing solid. They investigated them anyways and were always left disappointed. This was probably going to be the same, and it was the most dangerous so far. It didn't matter.

Looking at the map again she planned their entry into the facility, and formed an exit strategy as well. It had been abandoned years ago, just another Schnee Dust Company mining facility left to rot when the dust ran out. The map was actually useless when it came to floor plans. It had been in disuse for over a decade. Who knew what walls no longer existed, what halls had been made impassable from falling rubble above or holes below, and the general structural integrity was beyond questionable.

No, what she was most interested in was the thermal scans from a drone that had flown over earlier in the month. It had been another costly item to acquire, but both she and Tai were happy to pay it.

Huntsmen were rarely rich, but they were always in the upper levels of the middle class. Those who went in for money rarely lasted long. Nearly all of them were too lazy and undisciplined to keep up with their training. Even if they got through their training death wasn't far behind when they hit the field, or they quit when they realized the money wasn't worth their lives. Only those with the calling, the intense need to protect the kingdom and its people, were the ones who stayed. And they were human. They did fall, especially the young ones; the ones who were overconfident in their abilities.

That's why they made the money they did. It was simple supply and demand, and they were selling their very lives. With so few lives their demand grew.

Tai and Summer were different though. They were on the bottom end of the middle class. They had a house, and they had enough to be sure their children would have all they could ever need. Always their children came first, but whatever else they made went to this hunt. And because they were on this hunt they did not have the time to commit to too many jobs. The majority of their money went to supplies, transport, and bribes.

That last was how she had gotten her hands on this scan. And the scan she had gotten was particularly odd. Her contact, a scientist in the SDC, had contacted her to tell her about it. On it there were large clusters of cold spots, which were likely grimm, but in the center of the compound was a large heat signature; human signatures that numbered in the dozens.

That there were humans there was unexplainable when you took into account how long it had been since the SDC had abandoned it and how infested it was. By all rights they should be dead. The proof of life was enough for her to convince the Council to hire her for a rescue mission. It was the first time she'd been hired to search for her sister.

The odds were against Ehlen being there, but she had hope. An earlier bribe, near the beginning of her search, had given her the general area that her mission had been located. This facility was in that area.

"Drop in five minutes," their pilot announced.

Qrow had been giving every impression of being asleep while Summer brooded. He hadn't been, and on those words he stood up and stretched out his muscles. "Ready?" he asked. Summer nodded, her face grim with the coming battle. Those cold spots had been more than she'd seen in one spot. Whatever they found down there, it was going to be dangerous just getting in, and the only way to get the people out was to kill every grimm they could.

Their transport came to a complete stop 100 feet above ground and dropped its rear loading hatch. As soon as the two warriors jumped it took off in the night not to return until the mission was complete. With their landing strategies the landing was simple. The sounds of the plane's engines flying away would hopefully draw attention away from this area.

That wasn't something to take for granted though, so both took out their weapons and scanned the area for threats. Above them nevermores took the bait and followed their plane, around them were four ursa. Nothing that the two warriors haven't seen and beaten before.

Qrow's weapon was a scythe, and he was reputed to be the best with one on Remnant. That was probably an overstatement, but at the very least he was the best in Vale. Aside from it collapsing for easy transport there was nothing special about it. No guns, which seemed to be becoming popular with the newest wave of students, no secondary forms. The blade would slice through nearly anything though, and the balance was perfect for his style.

Her weapon was a dancing sword. It was a very accurate name, as she indeed danced, her attacks constant and forcing her enemy to react to her. In this method she controlled every aspect of the battle field from tempo to where the players placed themselves.

The fight was short, almost not enough to be called a fight. Slaughter might be a better term.

Both remained silent after the battle as they approached the compound; using hand signals to communicate. From the drone's scan they knew one of the walls was breached, so that was the target. While there was grimm in the woods the strongest concentration was inside. Most likely they had created that breach and used it to get in. That made the approach easier. Always alert for a random encounter, they were assured that the fighting here, at least, was going to be light and fast.

They weren't proven wrong. Approaching the breach they paused under cover and studied the building. It had definitely been caused by more than just time. Something large had bulled its way through and beyond crushing whole buildings. Pulling out her scroll she made X's on the buildings that weren't there any longer, and squiggled lines over the areas that were just damaged.

Meanwhile Qrow was using thermal binoculars to pinpoint the grimm in the area. Once Summer was done she passed her scroll to him to mark what he'd found. It wasn't good. They were going to be lucky to get five feet before being surrounded and attacked by more than they were going to be able to fight off.

Deathstalkers were going to be the largest problem. There were three and both of them used weapons too light to do much against their armor. The two packs of beowulfs on either side of the breach were large as well; larger than normal. They were perched high, ready to jump onto their prey while the ursa on the ground were going to charge in from the sides. There were other grimm as well, but what type Qrow couldn't tell.

It was too coordinated. Grimm shouldn't ever have ambushes arranged. They simply attacked whatever human or faunus was before them. Summer signaled to retreat to a safer spot and Qrow agreed. Once they were far enough away she felt safe to speak she asked "what do you make of that?"

"I don't like it. They're not acting like grimm. They're almost acting like intelligent guard dogs. Did you notice the Nevermores?" Summer shook her head. She hadn't thought to look up and chided herself for missing the obvious. "They were circling, each separated by exactly the same distance and all right over the wall. That's not random. That's a patrol."

A particularly scathing curse left Summer's lips. "We should wait until tonight and see if the patterns change."

"Sounds good," he agreed. "I'm going to circle the area and see if there are any other entrances that aren't so heavily protected."

Ha! "Not without me you aren't. It's too dangerous, and these grimm are acting too weird."

"I know better than to argue with you." He should have known better than to even start. "Let's move it though. I'm not liking this. We should find out what's going on, if we can."

Now that was simple truth. "Right."

About a quarter of the way around, where the forest allowed a closer approach, both stopped and indicated to back away for another conversation.

"Did you feel that?" Qrow asked.

Summer nodded, disturbed by this finding. "Dust, and a lot of it. There's enough there to keep Signal running for a year, at a guess, if we're sensing it this far away."

"This was a rich deposit at one time," Qrow continued. "But it had to of dried out or the SDC wouldn't have abandoned it."

"Let's chalk that up as another question that needs answered. They're adding up." Four already: A secret mission in the area; humans where there should be none; grimm not acting like grimm; and dust where there should be no dust. She was afraid there was only more to come. The first was likely attached to at least one of the other three, which meant the council was already aware of abnormalities out here. Was that also why they were so willing to send her out on this mission? She didn't like the implications. "We're going to need to be careful in there now. Depending on the type of dust a spark will take out half the forest."

Qrow just smiled a smile that said 'like you needed to tell me that.'

"Yeah, speaker of the obvious, right here." She was wondering if they should call in their ride and get out of there. She knew it would be a risky mission to start with, and now it could be outright suicidal. Her kids had already lost one mother; she didn't want them to lose two, especially when the odds were stacked like this. "If we don't find a better option I'm getting us out of here."

The rest of the trip proved no better. All of the entrances had proven to have been sealed except for this one breach.

To anyone else the mission would have been over. For Summer it gave a ray of hope. Only one entrance meant most of the security would be located at or near it. Pulling out her scroll she gave it one more look. The cold spots bore the truth of her thought. There were a few wandering, and perhaps six on top of the lives they were there to save. She pointed off towards the spot the forest was closest to the compound. It was perhaps twenty feet.

"Distract," she signaled to Qrow who nodded and headed another sixty feet around. Stepping out of cover he ran using his scythe to chop a few trees as he went. If there was anything he was better at than fighting it was making a scene. Looking up she noticed the nevermores take the bait, and a few beowulfs jumped down from the top of the wall.

This was when her semblance came into play. Against grimm it was useless, but against almost anything else it was unstoppable. Once on top of the wall she swung her sword. As if going through air it moved in a perfect arc. Not pausing she spun and performed four more swings in rapid succession. There wasn't a material she had found that her semblance couldn't cut through, unless that material was alive. Apparently her semblance considered grimm alive, so when she activated it her sword would move the same way but the damage would be nonexistent.

The wall was thicker than she expected. Her sword had not cut deep enough. Four more slices, this time at an angle, and wedged shaped pieces dropped from where the first had been. This allowed for a deeper cut which she did and found the other side. Four feet seemed a bit excessive, but it would be effective against most grimm. _So what kind of grimm had made that breach? Had it been a grimm at all?_

Too many questions, too few answers. It was starting to get annoying. Walking through she prepared herself for a possible attack. The numbers were fewer here but they were there. Luck was with her and she waited for Qrow to return. She hid behind a wall that was all that remained of a crumbled building. Fifteen minutes later, give or take a few minutes, he made his appearance.

They were committed now. Qrow checked for heat signatures and pointed towards the west. He also held up five fingers, closed his hand, and opened up with four fingers. So nine people to rescue. That was doable if they could get in without alerting half the compound.

The compound was large. It had to be to accommodate the personnel to run the mines, and the mines themselves. Then there were the defensive weapons and personnel. Last was the landing pad to transport the bounty back to Vale. They entered at the closest point to their target. Staying unnoticed on the trip should be possible in the remaining distance.

There was one thing they hadn't counted on though. The largest dust crystals she'd ever seen were making a latticework throughout the interior. Most were inert and would simply shatter if broken. There were ones that would make for a very bad day as well.

 _How?_

Qrow looked just as confused, but moved on. They did provide extra cover for their entrance. They got to the building that the heat signatures were in quickly. It was one of the few that had remained intact, the crystals oddly staying away from it like a well maintained garden.

A quick scan with Qrow's goggles showed there was grimm in there as well. The expression on his face told her there was something odd about the cold signatures, but he wasn't sure what. He handed the goggles over to her and she took a look. Eight heat signatures were bundled together and definitely human. Judging by his position the ninth had his hands bound together and was hanging from the roof, his feet not touching the ground.

The cold signatures were all around. She was guessing beowulfs, and about ten of them. With the confined space and hostages that was going to be tricky, but not impossible. The fact the humans were obviously captives wasn't adding to the questions, just reinforcing them. Why were they there and why weren't they dead?

Handing the goggles back she indicated she'd take the left side while he took the right. With a nod he squared up to the door, the only entrance, and lifted his leg to kick it in. He never got the chance. The door flew off its hinges, hitting Qrow and sending him into the crystals behind him. Several of the crystals shattered before he came to a stop. He dropped unconscious. Expecting a second attack she waited at the side of the door, prepared to attack the first thing coming out.

The attack didn't come from the door however. It came from the wall next to her as a spike pierced it and her left shoulder. She hopped back and away. She tried to take the entire building in, not knowing for sure where the next attack may come from. Fear gripped her as she realized the very likely possibility of her death and Qrow's.

 _My girls, please forgive me._

What came through the doors were not beowulfs. What they were she wasn't sure, but she knew they must be the reason for the secret mission as well as the grimm's odd behavior. Possibly the appearance of the dust as well, but she couldn't be sure of that one.

It held one of the prisoners by the neck and in front of him as an obvious shield. He smirked at her as he casually used a bone tipped finger to cut down her side. "Did you come for our meal?" He asked casually. "There's always room for one or two more."

That was the final answer that these were not normal grimm of any form. They were human in shape and apparently intelligence, and as such capable of planning. They'd drawn their prey in, and they were the prey.

"Brother I believe she has a specific dish in mind," a second one said, coming through the door. Hanging from his hands was a dark haired, red eyed woman she had thought she would never see again. "Their kind always look for their own."

Ehlen looked like hell. It had only been a few years, but it might as well have been a decade. Her eyes and her cheeks were sunken, her arms and legs lacked any muscle tone, and while she was conscious there was no sanity to be seen in those eyes. That is, there was none until she saw Summer, then abject terror suffused every part of her being.

She was so close to saving her, but she wasn't there yet. She prayed that Qrow recovered quickly and prepared for a fight. She pushed aside her fears, her anger, and her heartbreak to bring about her a feeling of calm certainty. Ehlen was in bad shape, but she was alive. She only had to finish the mission.

"Damn huntsmen," the first one muttered. "It takes too much to break through their defenses."

"Ah, but once we do they taste so much sweeter," a third one answered from the door.

Summer took the initiative, while they bickered and taunted, and charged in. She swung at the one holding Ehlen first. She removed his right leg at the knee in a fluid arc. She continued her swing gracefully to slice at the third's midsection.

Her style was a dance. To keep the initiative she had to maintain an awareness of all of her opponents' positions and actions. This allowed her to stay on the offensive. Because of that she felt more than saw the first one swing his hostage at her like a club. Side stepping the attack, her sword continued its arc to slice his arm off, forcing him to drop the hostage. Continuing the dance she moved upwards to slice the second from crotch to chin, and then swung around to slice at the first's side.

 _I can win this,_ she thought to herself.

Except she couldn't. Four more of the abnormal enemies outside of her perception fired more of those spikes from a distance. With deadly accuracy she found one protruding from each hip and each knee. Forced to the ground she knew her defeat and death was next.

Immobilized, she watched as they approached, one casually lifted an arm and from it flew another spike. It pinned her right hand to the ground and forced her to drop her sword. "So, what shall we do with this one?" he asked.

"She'll be fun to break, and a challenge I'm betting," one of them said with obvious amusement.

It felt odd, laying there, listening to her future being discussed as if she wasn't there. As if she wasn't human.

One of the ones who hadn't spoken, a short but stoutly built one, picked up Ehlen from the rope that bound her wrists and held her so she could see. "We got some dread from this one. I think they may know each other better than just their calling. We could use that."

"I had thought she was done, but with this we might get a few meals out of her," one agreed. "And what about that one?"

 _No, not Qrow too,_ she pleaded as she saw it point at her brother-in-law.

The one that seemed to be the leader paused and considered the question. "We leave him. Give him some proof that all of the captives died, including these two. We don't want them to continue following us, and he hasn't seen us."

Her relief didn't last long as the implications of them proving she had died registered. One of them set a foot on her ribs and his hands on her left arm just below her wedding bracelet and pulled. She passed out from the pain almost immediately as she wondered how long she would live before she bled out.

* * *

Ehlen hung limply. She wasn't sure how long she'd been there. Her shoulders had stopped hurting a long time ago, both having dislocated themselves from the awkward position and her own weight. Something was going on around her a dull portion of her mind realized. She wished it would go away. They ignored her when she didn't have the energy to feel anymore, and thinking brought feelings, even if they had dulled. It would be so nice everything would just stop.

Words filtered through the fog. "Huntsmen," was said repeatedly and that annoying voice held on to it, hoping and fearing at the same time. She tried to turn it off. They'd played this game before. Just enough hope to throw her into despair when it was dashed.

They had gotten her semblance again. She knew that. One was looking at the door. More likely through the door. If this was real her would be rescuers would be there then. She pitied them. If they were lucky they would die fast.

She had to stop thinking. Desperately she searched for that void that she could escape. The thoughtless place, but she couldn't find it. This time it was different. She could feel a familiar aura near by. One from a life she no longer recognized.

The fight started with the leader sending the door flying. Another fired one of those spikes that had been used on her any number of times through the wall.

There had been dozens, but only a few remained. He reached down and picked up one of the survivers and headed out the door. She was lifted next. Words were said to the person in front of her. The thoughts started, and they wouldn't stop. They _screamed_ and she knew they were going to use this person to hurt her more now. She had felt something. She wished she knew where she knew her from. If she was going to be tortured again it would be nice to know why she felt anything.

Whoever she was, she faught well. Not well enough though. The fight ended as it was inevitably going to.

 _Summer._

Where had that thought come from? Yes... She was Summer. As the first true memory snapped into place more followed. Qrow, Taiyang, and Yang... _Yang!_ How could she forget her dearest daughter? She had thought she would never see any of them again, had forced them from her mind. It had helped lesson the torment.

The stubby one picked her up again, and she hung like a napkin held only by two fingers. She knew he was enjoying the fresh pain she was experiencing. They all were. They made sure she could watch as summer's arm was physically torn off. She had no voice left after years of screaming, but she tried out of pure reaction, tears she didn't know she was capable of falling down her cheeks.

She was going to die. No one lived with that level of damage. She was going to watch her sister die right in front of her and she was powerless. Why must she feel again? She wanted to find that quiet place again, but all she found there now were the screams her voice was no longer capable of making.

Yet Summer did live. For another four years at least. These bastards were very good at keeping their victims alive. It made them a renewable source of food and entertainment.

She was glad to see her sister die. She was free now. She wondered when the Raven would come for her, to show here spirit the way home.

* * *

The transport returned to Vale without fanfare. Qrow had survived with only minor cuts and bruising. Physically at least. His heart was another matter. The carnage he saw after regaining consciousness had been awful. More than he had ever seen in his career, and he'd seen worse than most huntsmen. His only guess on why he had survived was that he had been hidden under the door and the dust. The arm he held was grimm proof that Summer hadn't fared as well.

At least they knew this time that she was dead. Ehlen could still be out there. He didn't know. He couldn't bring himself to think about it.

 _I can't do this anymore..._ he thought in despair. The shock had ruined him in many ways and he knew that he would hesitate in the field now. That wouldn't just get him killed; it would get his teammates killed as well. _Besides, Tai will need help with the kids. Maybe I can get a job at Signal? That's close. I could still do some good there. I just don't know._

The warrior dreaded telling his brother what had happened. That one wife had gone missing was bad enough. That the second was dead would destroy him. _Yes, I'll be there to help. He'll need me, and the kids will need me._

* * *

Councilman Ferris looked over the notes. His spy had seen most of what had happened. The data over the last year had been everything he'd hoped for at little cost or risk. Placing that bracelet in their wedding gifts and the falsified reports had indeed been worth it. He would be sure that Qrow and Tai had everything they needed and then some. It was the least he could do.


End file.
